Formerly Incarcerated Persons: Who are they really?

                                              Realistically Breaking the Cycle of Recidivism

Formerly Incarcerated Persons:  Who are they really? These are individuals who at some point in their lives have made some form of a mistake that is classified as a criminal act according to our laws.  In doing so these individuals thereby become enmeshed into our criminal justice system.  

They are branded-metaphorically speaking, with either a felony or misdemeanor convictions on their records.  Most cases the offenses committed date back a decade or more. 

These individuals are sentenced to a period of time within an institutional setting: prison or jail.  

Once their [time] is served they are then released back into our society, their debt paid for the crimes they have committed.  Upon reentering society these people face many challenges.  Adjustment: after the time spent inside the setting of an environment that most could not possibly comprehend let alone fathom, they are to adjust to a normal way of  life once again within their communities on the outside.    

Progression:  Moving forward in their lives with a renewed sense of moral character that is of benefit to themselves, their families and the communities that they are indeed a member of…despite the pasts they cannot simply erase. 

As productive members of society these individuals are expected to move forward and pursue achievements that are beneficial to the communities in which they dwell.  These individuals are either a family member, your neighbor, a friend of a friend, or simply put:  some passerby in the grocery store or gas station or Blockbuster Video store you do not even know.  In order for our nation to achieve a break in the cycle of recidivism we must make possible a realistic avenue for these individuals to become the productive members of society that they are already punished for for having fallen below the bar and grace of due their past mistakes with the laws as we know them to be. 

Real employment opportunities for this disadvantaged population is monumental.  Every human being has an innate instinct called survival.  If we bar these individuals from the means of supporting themselves and the families that they are a part of then what exactly are we to expect these individuals to do?  Are we not paving the path toward recidivism?  And if so…Why?

(c) 2012 Leann M. Sowell